CU-Boulder faculty members asked to support legislation that could restore gun ban

Resolution circulating in support of Rep. Claire Levy's efforts

By Brittany Anas Camera Staff Writer

Posted:
09/26/2012 05:44:56 PM MDT

Updated:
09/26/2012 09:39:56 PM MDT

University of Colorado faculty members are circulating a resolution on the Boulder campus seeking to gain grassroots support from their colleagues for planned legislation that would once again give the school the power to set its own weapons policies.

Susan Kent, a CU history professor and chairwoman of her department, said she has asked fellow department chairs to have their faculty consider and vote on the resolution.

The resolution being circulated says: "We, the faculty members of the University of Colorado, urge our senior administrators to support efforts to return to the university its long-standing power to make decisions regarding the rights of people to carry concealed weapons on our campuses."

State Rep. Claire Levy, D-Boulder, plans to introduce legislation that would transfer the authority to set weapons policies to universities, pushing a bill that focuses on local authority rather than the Second Amendment. She has said that having support from faculty, staff and students will be crucial in helping make her case at the state Legislature.

The Colorado Supreme Court last spring struck down CU's long-standing campus gun ban, ruling that students, employees and visitors with concealed-carry permits may bring their weapons to campus and into classrooms and labs.

The Boulder campus has since barred guns at all ticketed events and in most student housing, where such terms can be written into contracts.

Yet if given the authority to set university gun policies, the traditionally Republican-controlled Board of Regents could opt to continue to allow concealed-carry weapons on campus.

"The regents have to think about what their role is in this process," Levy said. "Is their role to think about this in the usual polarized, ideological terms? Or is their role to think more about the CU campus and the various voices and interests that exist within the CU campus?"

Boulder Faculty Assembly Chairman Jerry Peterson, a physics professor, said there is not a resolution in front of the assembly to support CU setting its own gun policies, but it's possible one could come forward through a faculty committee.

"I'm not sure an organized and recognized body should meddle with pending legislation," said Peterson, who made headlines last month by declaring he will cancel class if he ever learns one of his students is carrying a concealed weapon.

Peterson said the gun issue is certainly one that faculty members should be discussing.

Additionally, Kent said the faculty Arts and Sciences Council -- a faculty governance body in the College of Arts and Sciences -- will consider the resolution, though it could be some time before a vote comes up because it will still need a "notice of motion."